by Jeff Lowe and Ed DeRosa

Robert and Blythe Clay have acquired the breeding rights of Big Brown so that the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1) winner can stand the 2009 at their Midway, Kentucky farm.

Three Chimneys reached the agreement with Big Brown’s majority owner IEAH Stables Inc. just hours before the Boundary colt won the Preakness. IEAH co-President Michael Iavarone would not comment on the $50-million figure reported by NBC, though he had said after the Derby that IEAH insured the colt for that figure.

Clay said immediately after the Preakness that IEAH will handle decisions related to Big Brown’s racing career.

“They have the total control of his racing career,” Clay said. “When they deliver him to Three Chimneys, we'll start to manage him. So far, they've done a pretty good job [managing his racing career].”

And if it is up to IEAH whether Big Brown races as a four-year-old, the decision is made. Iavarone said May 14 that there is no chance of Big Brown racing as a four-year-old, and he indicated after the Preakness that Three Chimneys would have some input on the horse’s career going forward.

“We have the right to race him through the end of the year and make decisions as he goes,” Iavarone said. “As far as Big Brown is concerned, as long as he keeps coming out of his races well, we’ll sit down and discuss each race with Three Chimneys on a race-by-race basis. We don’t intend to race him after he's three.”

Big Brown’s trainer, Richard Dutrow Jr., said that he would be disappointed if the colt retired after the Belmont Stakes (G1).

“If he wins the Triple Crown, and they tell me I can’t race him in the Travers [Stakes (G1)] or [Breeders' Cup] Classic (G1), then I won’t listen to them,” Dutrow said.

Big Brown will join 2001 Preakness and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner and eventual Horse of the Year and champion three-year-old male Point Given and ’04 Derby-Preakness winner and eventual champion three-year-old male Smarty Jones at Three Chimneys. When the latter arrived at the farm in 2005, he was a Central Kentucky sensation, attracting tourists from around North America. Three Chimneys even hired a tour guide and built a parking lot to accommodate his fans. Seattle Slew, 1977 Triple Crown winner, played a big role in the development of Three Chimneys when he stood there for 17 years.

Ed DeRosa is news editor of Thoroughbred Times
 
Jeff Lowe is a Thoroughbred Times staff writer